Only Hope
by dismal dellie
Summary: AURomy fic It's in the middle of a heat wave, and Rogue is having a hard time sleeping. During an early morning walk, she finds that she is being watched.. AS OF 031605, THIS FIC HAS BEEN RESURRECTED
1. Interlude

Disclaimer: Wow, you think I own X-Men Evolution don't you? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't. I do however have a bunch of Ritz crackers. Want a cracker?

She awoke to the sound of the raindrops hitting the window on that early Saturday morning. The sound seemed to reverberate off the walls of her room and pound against her ear as she lifted her head from her pillow. Pushing strands of auburn and white locks from her eyes, she looked over at the alarm clock. _4.30 in the morning_, she thought to herself as she let out a groan and pulled the covers over her head.

What had made her wake up this early? The storm brewing outside her window? Probably not. If she had been able to nap through Christina Aguilera's new cd which Kitty had blasting ever afternoon, then she would be able to sleep through this. Rogue sighed as she pushed back the blanket. She sat up in her bed and look around her room, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness before heading off to the bathroom. _Kitty's lucky that she can just phase through everything_, she thought to herself as she reminisced about the time that she had fallen over a chair during the middle of the night. Then her mind drifted back to the time that Kitty phased through the bathroom door while she was on the toilet during one of her nightly trips. "Then again," she murmured as she opened the door to the room she shared with Kitty.

A slight chill rushed against her bare skin as she made her way to the washroom. She didn't wear all the "protective gear" to bed as she did when she was up and about. The summer night had started off with a sweltering heat, so she only wore a black sports bra and gray sweatpants. But now with the sudden storm brewing, the cold had sent goosebumps up her exposed arms as she made her way through the hall.

With Logan off on another of his lonewolf missions, the mansion was without it watchguard for the evening. Rogue didn't know the complete details of what Logan did when he went off. They seemed rather random and sporadic. All she knew that he was just searching for his past, his identity. Or something along those matters. But then again, who wasn't?

Not matter what the case, the mansion was unguarded, and with the recent uprisings of the Magneto and his Acolytes, Ororo had taken up the guard. _Guess she couldn't take the heat either_, she thought as the thunder rumbled overhead. Her thoughts were disrupted as she caught sight of the door tag on the bathroom's entrance. "Occupied," she read out-loud.

"Great. Just great," she continued to grumble as she turned back. She continued to walk down the hall, pass her room and down the stairs. She didn't feel like waiting outside the bathroom door for whomever was occupying it and she didn't think that she was going to be able to get back to sleep. As she walked down the stairs, she tried not to make too much noise. She didn't wish to wake up anything else. The X-Men were the closest thing to a family she had ever had, aside from Irene of course. Although she tried earnest to isolate herself with her "death glares" and dry wit, she had grown close with the inhabitants of this house. However, with the number of inhabitants increasing every week, it was hard to get some necessary alone time. She had grown up as the only child, even before her powers emerged, she had grown accustomed to being alone. It was a rare opportunity for her to get this peace and quiet. She didn't want to ruin it and she knew that soon enough many of the other students, particularly the male ones, would be running down in a couple of hours to watching some morning cartoons. _They never grow up_, she mused to herself. She couldn't help but smile at the image of Jamie, Roberto, Bobbie, Kurt, and even Scott in front of the TV watching Yugi-Oh. Scott always sat in the corner, pretending to do something more mature, like read a newspaper, but she always caught him staring at the television in the corner of his glasses.

But really, that's all that they were--teenagers, children. Hardly young adults when you really thought about it. They were merely placed in situations where they were forced to take on responsibilities that many adults in there thirties or forties would not have been able to handle. Many of them held the power of life and death, powers capable of mass destruction. Even with the growing anti-mutant sentiment spreading across the nation, across the globe; despite the spiteful looks and harassment they dealt with every day at school or merely by just walking down the street; they kept a great deal of control over themselves. The world may never know how truly powerful they were just to accomplish this. However, there they were every Saturday morning watching cartoons, or going to concerts with friends, going to the mall or the movies, trying to live like normal teenagers.

Rogue smiled a bit. She could be pretty damn deep if given the proper time to contemplate. Her philosophical thoughts came to a crashing halt however as her stomach began growling. She walked towards the kitchen, deciding that an early morning snack would be the proper waste of time at the moment. She stopped suddenly at the opening to the kitchen however and peered down the dark hallway. A chill ran down the spine of her back, not from the cold this time. It was something else. There was someone there.


	2. The Intruder

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Author Rant: Wow! I got reviews already. Hehe. Wohoo! Just wanted to send out a couple of messages to those that reviewed. Redid the Chapter as well, hehe… I hate cliffhangers too.  
Rogue Star: -hands over a cracker before scarfing down five- Enjoy!  
GeminiDragon: Because I am evil! Mwahahahhahaha! Want a cracker? ^_^  
Flamingo: -hands over a cracker- hehehe. Aren't they addictive? -scarfs down twelve more-  
The Flying Pen: hehehe… Just read ^_^ although you might want to do something about that eye.  
RogueLebeau: I'm sorry, here, you can have the rest of my box.  
Ishandahalf: Holy plot twists, Batman! I have a cracker. Hehe. Eat and be merry and thanks for the comment.

Disclaimer: I am the happy owner 52 pairs of socks, 32 tank tops, a DVD box set of Lain (awesome anime, I suggest all see it), a pair of Mary Jane's that has so far lasted 3 years, and a shiny nickel. However, I do not own X-men Evolution. Nothing can fill the hole in my heart for that which I cannot possess. But I shall disrupt my perpetual misery to write this fanfic ^_^

The sound footsteps quickly caught Remy Lebeau's attention. He had only just stepped into the building, and someone was up and about. _Now I know Remy not gettin rusty_, he thought to himself as he made his way across the ground floor of the Xavier School. He smirked at the mere thought as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ace of Hearts. 'c_ourse not_. He quickly hid himself in the shadows near the staircase as he heard the creaking of someone walking down. He hadn't been expecting a battle, just a simple break-in--a sort of challenge set up by the master of magnetism. Of course he had been given the young thief an objective, enter the Danger Room mainframe and alter the schematics for the students' "lesson" for the next day. Magneto had a message to send, and Remy was to be the delivery boy, as usual. Magneto had worked out the details of the plan from the disk that he was to use to hack into the systems to the dealing with the nightly-guardsman, the one they called Wolverine. But that wasn't important at the moment, nor was it of much interest to him as opposed to a possible confrontation.

The young woman didn't notice the pair of demon eyes staring at her as she made her way down the steps. _Merde, I think I'm in trouble_, he thought as he took in the lithe figure that seemed to float down to bottom of the staircase. Piercing green eyes, porcelain skin, soft auburn hair tied to a bun with white bangs framing her delicate features, curvaceous figure, and… well, it helped that she was wearing nothing but a sports bra and sweatpants--sweatpants that hugged her hips exposing an athletic figure that many never got to see.

Suddenly she paused at the bottom of the step and looked in his direction. Had she spotted him? He wasn't going to give the time to find out though, as beautiful as she was, she wasn't going to get in the way. But just before he was able to charge the card he held in his hand, he noticed the smile that she had in her face. It seemed to illuminate her features leaving the prince of thieves entranced. And that's when it hit him, who she was and why she looked so familiar. She was the girl from the battle, and she was just as entrancing as she was then. He had run into her once after the battle, when he was searching for the members of the Brotherhood. Nothing compared to this meeting though. Each time he had seen her beforehand she seemed to put up an icy front to shut people out, something he didn't need his powers to see that. But now she had put down her defenses and he could see her for what she truly was, and she was beautiful. Course she was still the enemy, but Remy could never resist a pretty young lady. 

__

Dis job just got more interesting, he smirked as the young girl walked away. She hadn't noticed him. The Cajun was left pondering as she walked off whether or not that was a good thing. He eyed her as she walked down the hallway, making sure that it wasn't a part of some sort of strategy to catch him. But she paused once again just as she was about to enter one of the rooms. She was looking towards the opposite direction of the hallway. He hadn't caught her attention, but something else had. He slowly began to move in closer to try to make out whom she had seen. _Merde_. He was too late, however.

A loud growl came from the shadows as Rogue stepped back. "Logan?" the girl said as she backed away. "What are ya doing back?" From the shadows stepped a man dressed in an orange combat outfit. He looked just past the young girl towards Remy, releasing his adamantium claws.

"Get out of here, Stripes," the older man growled as he stared down the intruder.

"Why? Wha--" she said as she turned around to face the figure that now stood inches away from her. Her eyes grew wide as she looked into the eyes of the man behind him. She instantly recognized him, one of Magneto's lackey's, the one who had given her the charged card. Her mind was racing a mile a minute as she slowly moved out of the way. How long had he been standing behind her? Was he watching her the entire time she was down there? At that moment Rogue had become quite aware of what she was dressed in and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Sorry for de fright, chere," Remy grinned noting the girl's sudden concern for the amount of skin she had exposed. "Hope ya don't take Remy for being a peeping Tom, but ya awfully distracting." His smile widened when he saw the blush form on the young girl's cheeks as she turned away her eyes from his glance.

__

Yes, things got a lot more interesting.


	3. The Crescendo

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Author Rant: Just in case you are reading this and have not read the updated version of Chapter 2 yet, I suggest you take a look. I put up the unfinished draft of the chapter up by mistake and didn't catch it till a couple of hours later, so I loaded it later, but it should be the new version now. Now to those who have left reviews:  
[RogueWorriorSpirit] hehe. Thank you for your review, unfortunately I'm out of crackers so I have no more to give out. ^_^  
[Sash] Damn right he couldn't ^_^  
[Rogue31] hehehe. Lack of Evo has forced me to read Romy fics too.. hehehe. Don't worry about it, I think it's a normal reaction.  
[Kase] -sweatdrops- Oh.. hmmm.. Well, I fixed that problem now. Sorry about that.  
[Rogue Star] Why wouldn't I need 52 pairs of socks? I think that's the real question here. Hehe. Dude, I just overstocked on socks before college (I was dorming). I had a feeling I wouldn't be doing a lot of laundry.  
[N'Awlins Demon Lover] hehe. Thanks for the tip on anonymous reviews, I changed the settings. I had no idea I even disabled that.

Disclaimer: I am one more box of Ritz crackers close to buying the copyrights of X-men Evolution, people. Soon I won't have to write these annoying disclaimers anymore. But till then I still don't own it.

Wolverine made the first move lunging forward claws unsheathed and eyes blazed with fury. He had been sent on a wild goose chase, and it didn't take him too long to figure out who was behind it. The warehouse as well as the secret lab it covered had been completely abandoned for decades from what he could tell. No telltale signs of the Weapon X project could be found and there seemed to be no scent of a living creature there aside from a couple of rats and pigeons. The strongest scent being that of a huge rat with the power to reduce buildings to rubble with a wave of his hand. Magneto's scent had been weeks old, but it was still there. Another dead end in Logan's search for a sense of identity, but that was not of any importance. If Magneto wanted him away from the school, there must have been a reason for it. He had been in a mad rush to get back to the Institute; however, he was welcomed back by Magneto's Acolytes just miles away from the school. Well at least three of them--Sabertooth, the Russian who had given offered a place at Magneto's side, and the fire-wielding psycho who seemed to have a strange obsession with ponies. They had given him a rough fight at first, but luckily Storm had managed to get there in time to help hold them back while Logan ran to the school. It had been a rough thirty-six hours, but he still had enough energy for one more good fight.

"This is going to get ugly kid, haven't had my beauty sleep yet," he growl as he looked up at the intruder whom had managed to dodge Wolverine's attacks through a series of acrobatic moves. "Why don't you just run back to Papa Mags with your other buddies, because whatever you're here to do, it ain't happening."

"Sorry to disrupt yer naps, homme," Remy said arrogantly as he charged up the ace of hearts card. "But dis _kid_ doesn't run from a fight." With one swift move he tossed the card into the light fixture above the X-Man causing an explosion which sent Wolverine falling back a bit. Before he could react though the Acolyte leapt from the smoke and dust. Armed with a staff that seemed to have appeared out of thin air, he came down upon Wolverine with a series of combos. He had managed to dodge a couple, but the last blow managed to strike him causing him to fall back against the wall. "By de way, de name's Remy, well, at least to my friend's. To my enemies it's Gambit." He swiftly swung the staff and gave the dazed combatant an uppercut. From his coat pocket he grabbed a deck of cards. Charging the Joker, he tossed it at the ceiling above the X-men sending a great deal of debris onto him. "So you can go ahead and forget de first name right ab…" His cocky remark was cut off by a sudden blow against his head.

As he fell to the floor, he rubbed the back of his head brushing off what seemed to be the shards of a vase. Luckily he was wearing his protective head gear so the blow didn't do much to him except catch him off guard. He looked up to find the young girl standing over him, with an angry look on her face. "Sorry, Gambit," she said vehemently as she kicked the staff away. "Guess tonight isn't yer lucky night." He merely smiled at her as he pulled his legs against the back of hers, causing her to fall on top of him. Luckily, the thief was fully covered with the exception of his face, so her powers couldn't do any damaged. She was now centimeters away from the face with the mysterious mutant, who had a nice grip on her waist as from when he caught her fall. "Don't know 'bout that, chérie," he said softly. "Remy feelin' pretty lucky rite now."

She shot him angry look as she attempted to pull away. _He seems more cocky every time I run into him_, as she looked down at him. _Who de hell does he think he is? Almost as arrogant that Pietro._ His smile only seemed to widened in response to her glare. _Okay, he is more arrogant_. She hated him so much at that point, for many reasons--almost blowing up her arm during their first meeting, his chauvinistic behavior during the second, him watching her like some demented pervert during the this meeting, and now this. So why couldn't she draw her eyes away from his gaze? There was just something about him that left her captivated; it was as if he could see through her. She felt so naked when he was there, that he saw her bare soul; she felt vulnerable. It was what left her immobilized during the first battle, and it was what left her speechless now. It was a difficult feeling to explain especially with the few meetings that they had, but there was just something there each time she looked into those eyes. Those strange eyes, black where the whites were supposed to be, and red pupils--had a supernatural look to it. And now it was drawing her in once again.

"What's going on down here?"

"Oh man, it's like a warzone down here."

Rogue blinked and looked around. "Scott?" she said aloud as she looked through the dust. "Kitty?" She could have sworn she had just heard the voices of her teammates. The dust and smoke was clouding the end of the hallway that Scott and the other students of the Institute were now swarming towards. She could hear them yelling, trying to clear out the rubble and put out the fire that had started from the explosion. She quickly rolled away from her position on top of the Acolyte and attempted to stand up. Her efforts were quickly brought to a halt by a shot of pain stemming from her right ankle. "Shit," she said under her breath as she collapsed again under the sudden jolt.

"Careful dere, petite," Remy said as he caught the injured girl. He gently cradled her in his arms. She couldn't help but blush as he brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Don't want to lose my ticket out of here now."

"What?!?!?!" she screamed as he tossed her over his shoulders roughly.

"Ready, chérie?" he said. Before she knew it though, they were already on their way outside--through the nearest window.


	4. The Calm

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Author Rant: Just got back from watching The Hulk, awesome movie. Everyone go watch it! Stan Lee makes a cameo. I would also like to apologize for the time it took for me to update this chapter, I'm in the process of moving at the moment, so there's a bit of a delay, so sorry. -_- Anyways, thank to you those who have submitted reviews thus far and to those who are reading. I'm glad people are enjoying my coffee-induced babblings. Thank you for the reviews thus far, they're really encouraging.

[Kikuyo Okiura] Glad you are enjoying it ^_^  
[Rogue31] hehe. Cliffhangers are what make chapters so great. Otherwise they'd be the end, and I wouldn't know what to do from there. Hehehe. But yes, the whole interaction between Rogue and Remy happened in a matter of seconds, but the whole Wolverine thing will be explain soon, and yes, revenge will be sweet.  
[cool-chick-rae] Thank you, come again ^_^  
[Yumiko] hehehe. Thank you. I've run into those types of fics myself, I think that was my main reason for writing this one.  
[ishandahalf] Yes! *Grabs the "ishandahalf points" and runs* I'm going to Vegas! Wait… What does not redeemable for… Damnit!  
[gambitgirl] hehe.. Oh the plans I have for those two, the plans! Mwahahahaa.  
[beth] hehe. I love him too.  
[Makura Koneko] hehe. He isn't mean, just.. well, suave? I don't know..  
[Rika] Thank you ^_^  
[infinityxforever] Although there maybe some delays due to me moving to another town, I'll keep up with the updates. Glad you're enjoying it. ^_^  
[RiahYaps] hehe. Don't worry, I'll keep writing, don't want anyone to go crazy.  
[Caliente] Hey Beth, Glad you're enjoying the fic, thanks for the review ^_^  
[Catt] hehe. Thank you ^_^  
[Rogue Worrior Spirit] Thanks for coming back and for the other review.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, do to my never-ending cravings for Ritz crackers, I am no longer in the running for owning X-Men Evolution. Damn you Marvel comics, you creative bastards.

Rogue let out a yell as Remy tossed her over his shoulders and bounded towards the windows. She had to cover her face from the glass shards as they went through, although the rest of her body was not without it cuts and gashes. When they had landed safely on the ground, she felt a light tap on her butt check. "Okay dere, chérie?" her captor said.

"I'm gonna kill you," she spat as she elbowed him in the shoulder blade. She was glad she couldn't see his face at the moment. Arrogant bastard probably had -that- smirk on his face, the one that drove her absolute insane the more and more she saw it.

This had to be the most degrading experience of her life as she desperately attempted to get free herself from his hold. She didn't know which was stronger at the moment--her anger or her embarrassment. She was caught up in disbelief that she could ever get herself in this situation. It was like a nightmare. That's it, it had to be one of those nightmares, like the ones where you walk into class naked. That had to be it. After she had gone to the bathroom, she must have gone back to bed, and now she was dreaming that all of this was happening. Aside from the pain from the twisted ankle and cut up arms, it all made sense. It had to be a dream… right?

"Kill me later, okay petite?" Remy replied in a serious tone as he stood up and made a mad dash to the forest. A storm brewed overhead, meaning the weather witch must have been on her way and fast from what he could make out from the ferocity of the storm. If what the other X-man had said was true, then that meant that his "comrades" were either defeated or received orders to retreat, most likely the latter though. That didn't mean too much to him, however. He had grown accustomed to working on his own; it made it easier when it came to digging himself out of his own messes. His motorcycle was hidden in the woods in close range to the Institute, now it was all a matter of outrunning the X-Men.

__

Oh well, dis still was a worthwhile visit. He thought to himself as he adjusted the girl's position on his shoulder. She was putting up quite a fight, slamming her fists into the his back, kicking and flailing her legs, almost made it hard to concentrate. Almost. He winced every time her fists connected with his spine, however, he had taken worse beatings in the past so all that was left for him to do was grin and bear it. In a matter of seconds, they were already yards away from the forest.

"Stop right there!" a voice boomed from behind him.

Rogue looked up to see Scott and Kurt jump out of the window she and the Acolyte had made their escape through. "Great," she mumbled under her breath as she continued her attempts to either slow him down--wiggling from his grasp, punching him in the back, or even try to reach up to touch the exposed part of his face. All in vain thus far, and now she had an audience. The two boys, meanwhile, were running right behind them. Kurt had turned his image inducer off and Scott had on his visor, with his secured fingers on them as if to prepare for an attack. _Just put me out of mah misery, Scott, and shoot me. Please._

"You're not going to blast them, are you?" Kurt asked, shooting a confused look at the older X-man. "You could hit Rogue."

"I know that. Don't worry, I won't hit her." Scott spat out as he took aim at the first row of trees in the forest and fired one long shot at them. Much to his avail, however, clearing the path did nothing to slow him down. If anything it had made it easier for him to make his escape. The Acolyte deftly leapt over the fallen trees, even having time to look back at the two X-Men and smile. 

"Merci beaucoup," Gambit replied as he reached into his coat pocket with his free hand and pulled two cards--the 2 and 3 of Spades. He tossed it at the two boys.

"Get down!" Rogue yelled to her friends as they stared bewilderedly at the glowing cards. Kurt immediately reacted, grabbing hold of Scott's arm and teleporting the two of them a few yards ahead of Rogue and her captor. Gambit turned back to face the X-men who now stood between him and his getaway as the card landed behind him, causing a huge eruption of dirt and grass as it made impact with the empty field. 

" You must be quite valuable, chérie, for dem to go through all dis trouble," he mused to himself as he reached for three more cards from his hidden deck. "Quite valuable indeed." He held the three cards in front of him and charged them up. The cards started to emit a high-pitched noise as the cards began to light up with pink energy. Rogue began to fidget as she tried to get a good view of what was happening, although she didn't think that she could muster the courage to look at her friends faces at the moment. He was holding the cards much longer than he usually did however. What was he up to?

Scott and Kurt stood still in preparation for the oncoming onslaught of cards, but the Acolyte was hesitating. Scott took steady aim at his opponent's wrist, deliberating a way to stop Magneto's lackey without harming Rogue. He couldn't disable him. If he shot him, he would drop the cards and Rogue would get caught in the explosion. He had seen the damage that one card was capable of doing, three would probably kill the two of them.

"I'm going to teleport behind him and grab her," Kurt whispered to his silent leader.

"No, Kurt," Scott replied stoically as he continued to assess the situation.

"Gambit don't think dat a bright idea either," he shouted back to the blue X-man. "You quick, but not that quick."

"Tad bit cocky dere, aren't ya, swamp-rat?" Rogue muttered under her breath as she gave him another quick punch in the spine.

Remy smirked and looked back at the young woman who was tossed over his shoulder. "Swamp-rat? And Remy was just starting to think de femme was starting to like him." He then turned back to the two young men who stood before him. His cocky smile notwithstanding, he continued to address them, "Gambit sure dat ya figured out what happens if ya shoot de cards from mah hand, seeing as how ya haven't done it yet." His smile widened as he saw the red-haired mutant's anger spread across his face. "Yer friend teleports here, I'll give him one of de cards and finish you and de girl with de other two. Now, de way I see it, ya have only one choice to make here. See, de longer I charge de cards, de more unstable de atoms of de cards get. Pretty soon dey'll explode in mah hands, taking de femme with me. Dis isn't an ultimatum, boys. Get out of my way. Now."


	5. There\'s a Song Inside

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Author Rant: First off, I would like to start out with an apology. I'm sorry this chapter took awhile to update. I've in the moving process and at the moment I don't have any of my stuff unpacked aside from the phone and the computer. So there will be some delays in this fic as a result. Due to the growing positive responses, I will press forward, and I will attempt to make these chapters much longer, which is so far, the major complaint. But once again, thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them. Well, here's an important note that I forgot to add in the first fic, this story is taking place before Self-Possessed, and that'll come into play later ^_^.

[Rogue Star] Hehe.. That's the only reason to have 52 pairs of socks. I won't deny it!  
[ishandahalf] Nice incorporation of the pun there. Hehe. Rogue is a very lucky girl to be carried around by Remy. Wish I had one of those, who needs a car.  
[Yumiko] I hope you're happy now that I've updated ^_^  
[Riah Yaps] Embarassment + anger = EVILNESS  
[Carla] lols. I'm glad you like the disclaimers. I'm trying to keep them funny, but I don't want to kill the Ritz joke too much.  
[Lady Godiva] As in Godiva chocolates?!?! Share the wealth man, lady.. umm.. person. lols. Anyways, yes, I liked the fight between Logan and Remy, expect a rematch.  
[Rogue31] hehe. I tried to incorporate some sap here. Not too much though. I want to build up their relationship first. But enjoy what we have here. BTW, see the Hulk?  
[DaughterofDeath] Behold, it is here.  
[cool-chick-rae] hehe.. That's why I had Scott and Kurt block him, they're quite stubborn.  
[jiana weasley] -_- please don't kill me, here *hands red box* have a ritz cracker!  
[ChaosCat] Remy's a real playboy all right. I'd love to go crashing through a window at 4 in the morning with a southerner who refers to himself in third person.  
[Andi] Here you go Andi ^_^  
[me] helloOooo, get the email?  
[rita] Thank you!  
[Rogue Worrior Spirit] Quite the meanie Remy is, I'm trying to make him more like comic Remy… Esp. Uncanny X-men Remy… Oh, the memories of my youth…  
[girl4chat86] What are you talking about, coffee is both addicting and amusing ^_^ Especially Brownie Frappacinos from Starbucks..Yummy..  
[Yasumine] Oh, trust me, there will be plenty of spice to go around  
[Barbara Ruiz] Thank you ^_^  
[buffyangelus] Thank you for the compliement and the XO's ^_^  
[Catt] Just read ahead and you'll find out ^_^  
[lil old me] Everyone is loving this Rogue being thrown over his shoulder thing.. hehehe…  
[roguewanderer] hehe.. There's just a little bit of everything here. And there will be more to come, I assure you.  
[Vinter] Right now ^_^

Disclaimer: -looks around blankly- I know I packed up my disclaimer here somewhere. -kicks away a few empty boxes while proceeding to ravage through a couple of unpacked ones- Ummm… This may take awhile, you get the basic premise though… blah blah blah… Ritz crackers… blah blah blah.. Don't own any of this… blah blah blah… RITZ CRACKERS!

The scene seemed like any generic shoot-out segment in the old western movies. The two heros had now cornered the lawless bandit and now they were just waiting to see who would make the first move. They silently stared each other down in attempt to figure out the other's next move. The tension grew thick as the seconds ticked away. The sound of the wind was the only thing that could be heard over the high-pitched whining emitted from the three cards. Scott Summers and Kurt Wagner were merely a couple of yards away from their objective--Rogue; however, it seemed as if they were miles away. Her fate as well as theirs now relied on what they were going to do next.

Although he tried best to keep cool under the heated situation, inwardly Scott was in a panic on what action to take. "_Professor? What am I going to do? We can't let him get away, he might hurt Rogue whether or not we let him go._" He thought to himself as he quickly ran the consequences of each action in his mind. He just hoped that his mentor had heard him as he looked over at his teammate thrown over the intruder's shoulder. His visor hid the desperation in his eyes, but from the calm, collected look on his opponent's face seemed to indicate that he knew exactly what was going through the younger man's mind.

Poor Kurt. The young man was not able to keep his composure as well as his older teammate. He had grown quite close to the gothic X-man throughout the past year. They had this unique bond stemming from the darkness and pain that they alone could relate to because of their mutations and their tragic pasts--the isolation, the loneliness, the confusion about where they had come from and where their lives were going. Whenever he was around her, he felt more relaxed like he could truly be himself, and not hide behind the illusions that his inducer provided or his prankster persona. Both had worn masks around others, but behind it all, there was nothing but emptiness. It was a strange relationship--purely platonic, but more than that, almost brotherly and sisterly. He had always viewed the older mutant as a pillar of strength. Now here she was, at the mercy of this sleazeball. "Vhat are ve going to do Scott," he said outloud. "I don't vant Rogue getting hurt."

"Neither do I," Scott said in an annoyed tone. As much as he didn't want to let his enemy get away, he need to give a little time to come up with a plan that wouldn't get any of them killed.

"Running out of time here, homme," Gambit snorted as small burst of pink energy started to spark from the cards. "Gambit doan think ya should be spending all dis time standing dere smirking. So ya best move aside."

All the meanwhile, the young woman tossed over the mysterious trespasser's shoulder was desperately trying to find any exposed skin. Rogue hated it when she was forced to absorb the psyche of other mutants. It was painful for her on both physically and mentally. She had already absorbed so many in such a short period of time; it was beginning to get a little crowded in her head and she didn't know how long she could deal with the voices. But this was a matter of life or death. She honestly did not believe that Gambit was willing to destroy himself or hurt her in order to escape, but she was tired of this game. He had to be taken out--at least in theory. She let out of sign of disbelief and frustration. He was completely covered, with the exception of his face. Unfortunately she wasn't in a position to take advantage of that. Not yet anyway…

Scott let out an exasperated sigh as he slowly moved his hand away from the visor and brought it down to his side where they were formed into fists. Gambit cocky grin seemed to broadened as he watch his opponent yield to his demand. "Dat's a good boy," the cajun retorted as he slowly made a few steps forward. All the while he kept an eye on the blue-haired mutant who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"This isn't over," Scott muttered in a low voice. He usually was the stoic leader of the group, but he hated losing with a passion. Every movement that Magneto's Acolyte seemed to make was a method of taunting the X-men of his weakness. Because that's what it was, afterall, weakness. At least in the young man's mind it was. "You hurt her, I'll come after you personally and I'll make sure to finish the job."

"Promettrez? [_Promise?_]" the crimson-eyed mutant grinned as he slowly walked past them, holding the cards in front of the two X-men in one hand, and gripping the young girl's waist with his other. "And don't worry, Remy take good care of de girl. Remy always good to the ladies." With that said he released more energy into the charge and tossed it at the two boys before making a mad dash to the forest for cover.

"No!" Rogue screamed as she saw the cards fly towards her friends. The first one landed a few feet before them, but the large explosion that it caused could have easily taken them out. Rogue was unsure if she saw Kurt reach Scott in time, however, by the time the second and third card landed the impact of the cards sent the two Southerner's flying. When they landed, Remy was laying on top of her, as if to cover her from the blast. Whether or not it was intentional, Rogue took advantage of it as the debris came flying towards them, grabbing his trenchcoat as the smoke and flames carried by the wind danced around them. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she felt a hand on her back pulling her closer and looked up at her captor. Once again their eyes were locked on each other. His smirk softened a little as he looked at the frightened, confused young girl. "Yer awfully beautiful, cherie," he whispered as he lowered his face towards hers. "Shame about de rivalry between de old men, non?"

"Quite a shame," Rogue spat as she brought her good leg up and kneed his groin causing him to topple off her. She winced as she attempted to stand up and stagger her way towards the other mutant. Her ankle was beginning to swell up more. The fall from the blast had made her injury much worse. She tried her best to keep a straight face as she addressed her opponent, unfortunately her voice did give hint to her handicap. "But Ah bet ya say that to all the girls who's friends ya just attacked."

"What in de hell is wrong wit you?" Remy shouted as he pulled himself up. He was completely caught off-guard by her sudden actions. He was completely caught off-guard with how she was acting period. Lebeau had grown quite accustomed to girls reciprocating his affections in some way, even when in the heat of battle. He had to admit though, he admired her determination; and her obstinate attitude was strangely appealing. This enigma that stood before him, the Rogue as the files Magneto had given to each of his Acolytes, was a challenge. And Remy was always up to a challenge. He grinned as he slowly moved towards the girl. "Calm down now, cherie. Remy not out to hurt ya, really."

The girl lunged forward with all her might to punch the Acolyte; however, her injury weighed down her agility and reflexes. Remy simply dodge the attacked and grabbed her wrist and waist and pulled her towards him. She was caught in his arms, her head resting on his chest. "Cherie, calm down, please," he cooed in her ear as he slowly turned her around to face her. "Calm down, okay?" he continued pressing his finger on her lips. "Remy not gonna hurt ya, got dat?" The X-man nodded in reply as she looked up at him angrily. "But yer hurt, so Remy not gonna just leave ya here, okay?" Once again the young girl nodded in compliance. "So Remy gonna take his fingers off yer lips now, and bring ya someplace to get ya fixed up, den bring ya home." He slowly pulled away his fingers from her lips, tracing her jaw before moving a strand of white hair from her eyes. "Dere, nothing ta worry about."

But just as soon as he finished his statement Rogue quickly moved towards him. Their lips locked as Gambit released his grip on the girl. A strange felling took over the theif as he felt something tugging at his lips--a strange sensation as a feeling of exhaustion took over. He could feel her hands on the back of his neck, pulling him in closer as he tried desperately to pull away. Before he knew it though, the world went black…


	6. It\'s the One I\'ve tried

****

Author Rant: hehe. I promised that this chapter would be up sooner than the last, and ta da! Okay, so it's still a long time, I'm trying… Things are just hectic. Here we go. Hehe. Enjoy!

Yumiko: Sorry, this took long too…  
Rogue Star: Just a TAD bit obsessive with the Ritz joke. And yes, I love the pre-made Ritz sandwiches, well, the ones with the cheese. Not a big peanut butter person myself. hehe.  
Fire0: hehe. Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoyed my fic.  
Scholar: hehe. I think Mags is the last thing he should worry about at this point.  
Mistic UV: Ummm.. I can't really say how long this fic will be. I honestly don't know yet. But I'm trying to condense more into these chapters so I can get closer to what I want to do here.  
One23mad: She did it out of desperation, really. She had to get away from him, and she felt that she had to stop him. And hey, I'd kiss him if I was in that situation.  
icyangelluv: And here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy ^_^  
Rogue15: hehe/glad/you/enjoyed/the/story/./././this/is/a/cool/way/of/typing  
Andi: hehe. I know, it's a huge feat for me to update. I'm such a lazy bum.  
Dragonet: Wow, that's putting a lot of pressure on a person. hehe. Anyways, I hope this chapter doesn't let you down.  
Rogue31: Yah, the beginning of the Hulk was way too detailed. And a lot of other parts.   
isandahalf: You and your crazy theories about me working for Ritz and using this fic to sending you subliminal Ritz messages to buy Ritz. Ritz Ritz Ritz. Sorry for the long update once again though. I'm trying to be one with the crack bunny, but it's not working. Damnit!  
The Flying Pen: Welcome back from summer camp, here's my Romy goodness for you.  
Nightshade: hehehe… It's not a sneaky tactics, she's just using her powers to help, lols.  
Lady Dragon: Oh, yah, he's definitely going to try again.

Disclaimer: I was told that I *twitch* am a bit *spasm*… Excuse me… Obsessed with the whole Ritz cracker joke. Yes, I know I'm killing it, but it's my fic.. MWAHAHAHAHHAHA. Unfortunately, the characters itself under the X-men copyright are not of my creation, but that's okay, because that just means more Ritz for me…

He awoke to the sight of charred, fallen trees and burning bushes. Their stench overwhelmed his senses and caused him to lurch forward. _Ugh… Wat de hell did John do now?_ Gambit thought as he pushed himself off the ground. As he looked around at the scene that laid before him, reality instantly took over--Magneto's mission, the girl, getting caught, the girl, the fight, kidnapping the girl, more fighting, and the girl. He smiled a bit as he brought his hands to his lips. Never enjoyed losing a fight as much as he did at that moment. But how long had he been out? And where was the girl now? He scanned the area in search of her, but he couldn't see any signs of the femme. _Don't know whether I should be disappointed or relieved_, he thought to himself as he surveyed the landscape. It didn't seem like he was out that long. The fires were still burning anyway, but the storm clouds were coming in fast. He would have to wait until their next meeting to show the girl his gratitude for her lip to lip combat skills. Now it was time for him to go.

As he turned to make a break for it, however, the sharp pain shooting up his leg stopped him. "Wat in de hell?" he hissed as he examined his leg. He didn't remember getting injured. Maybe he fell on it when he passed out. Perhaps. But he wasn't ever this careless to get hurt on a mission. _Maybe de femme play dirty an kick Remy when he down, non?_ he mused to himself. Whatever was the cause of it, he had been through worse, so it wasn't going to be a huge problem for it. At least that's what his ego told him as he limped along in a feverish pace. Magneto employed a mutant that had healing abilities, so she may have been able to fix him up. All he had to do was get to his bike and he could go back.

"Going somewhere, Cajun?" a voice growled from behind. Gambit froze in his path as the vibration of the cold voice sent chills down his spine. It was a strange feeling, one that he hadn't felt in a long time, or at least trained himself not to. At least he couldn't remember this feeling of apprehension before. But it was as if something in the back of his mind was starting to take over as he turned around.

"You weren't planning on just up and leaving without saying good-bye to me, where you?" Wolverine spat as he unsheathed his adamintium claws from his knuckles. The dust from the roof collapsing on him was still visible on his tattered uniform, the heat of the flames caused the dust to cling to his exposed skin as he slowly moved forward. "Let's keep this simple. Where's the girl?"

"Damned if I know," Gambit replied, his cocky smirk once again returning to his expression.

The Acolyte's confidence only fueled Wolverine's rage as he prepared to attack. He wasn't going to let this kid get away again, especially after how things went during their last spat. He lunged forward towards the younger mutant in a series of combos. Despite his sore ankle, Gambit deftly blocked most of the older mutant's attacks, some had barely hit their mark before Wolverine took hold of his wrists and flipped him over. As the X-men came down for the final blow, Gambit quickly rolled over a couple of feet. He searched his coat for his staff but to no avail. It wasn't in his secret compartment. And to make matters worse, it seemed as if his cards were snatched to. "That bitch," he muttered under his breath as he got to his feet.

It didn't matter that his weapons were gone. He could make any object a weapon, so it was of no consequence what he used. Plus, he was a capable fighter, despite his injury slowing him down a bit. So why was he all of the sudden overcome with a sense of anxiety and nervousness. Something was wrong. The kiss. What the hell did the girl actually do to him? He pondered as he readied himself for an attack. Strangely enough. The X-men stood where he was. 

"Something's not right here," Wolverine said as he stared down his opponent. "You're not holding back on me are you? No, that's not it. Something else." His eyes widened as he moved closer. Gambit backed away and raised his fists as he stood in his defense stance.

"Logan, get down!" a voice cried out from behind them. Before Gambit or Wolverine could react, however, a red energy blast shot through the darkness, striking Gambit and throwing him back a couple of yards. He let out a yell as his body slammed into a couple of trees before he landed. Within seconds, Cyclops came running out, his eyes on his visor, preparing for another attack as he followed the path were the intruder's body was thrown in. "Not so cocky anymore?" he snapped as he cautiously approached the body.

"Scott, stop," Wolverine yelled as he grabbed the young mutant by the arm. "Don't attack him. That's not him."

"What do you mean that's not him?" Scott replied as he struggled away from his grasp. "I saw him. After Kurt teleported us away from the blast, I saw -him- walk away from it without Rogue. He was going in this direction. That's him."

"I don't know what you saw, but it's not him, kid," Wolverine continued as he flipped Scott onto the ground in attempts to calm him. "It doesn't smell like Gumbo, so it's not Gumbo." Scott looked up at him in confusion. "That's not him. I think that's Rogue."

The smell of sulfur and smoke filled the air, the signature signs that Kurt had joined them. "Hey everybody! Look who I found!" the blue-haired mutant grunted as he dragged the unconscious body of the Acolyte behind him. His two allies looked up at him with a confused look on their faces as they looked at his findings. "He vas on the other side, near vhere ve vere, Scott. I don't know vhat you vere talking about seeing him come in this direction."

Despite his attempts, however, the two other X-men stared at him in silence in disbelief. "Um… Guys… Vhat's going on?"

------------------------------

The steady beeps from the heart-monitoring machine greeted Rogue as she woke up from her nightmare. She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position as she tried to get her bearings back to her. Slowly allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she figured out that she was in the med lab. But why? Where was everyone? Dr. McCoy, the Professor, Logan. Logan. All of the sudden everything came flooding back to her about the events of the morning. The intruder, the fight, being kidnapped, and… "Oh, no," she muttered as she brought her fingers to her lips. The tears began to swell up in her eyes as her mind began to wander about what the consequences of her actions brought about. "What have Ah done?"


	7. To Write Over

Disclaimer: _Oh honestly now, if I owned X-men evolution and all its franchises, where's my money? Are you holding out on me Mr. Lee? Where's my paycheck!!!!! Must buy Ritz stock before moving to school…_

The excitement and confusion of the early morning intrusion had carried on past the sunrise to the breakfast table, each swiping tales of what had taken place. While the new and old students alike exchanged tales of seeing a dark figure run off with Rogue on his shoulder, and Kurt attempted to fill in the details to the other students of the gallant rescue of Rogue and the capture of the intruder. Meanwhile, Scott had remained quiet the entire time, staring out the window to the bleak scene outside to upturn dirt and grass in addition to the charred remains of trees and shrubs from the early morning scuffle. Jean had also remained subdued during the entire fiasco. She had not reached the scene on time to aide in the rescue attempt or witness any of it, however, she could tell by Scott's expression that he was greatly affected by it. She stared at him, attempting to read his features to his inner struggle. 

He looked back at her feeling her eyes studying him and flashed her a smile, an effort to ease her worried expression. _I'm fine, Jean, don't worry,_ he projected as he picked up his car keys. "Come on guys, we're going to be late for school."

"You cannot by serious," Kitty said in disbelief. "Like, how can we sit through class after what happened this morning? It would be like totally hard to concentrate."

"You heard him," Logan replied as he stepped into the dining area. Instantly, all of the chatter came to a screeching halt, as he made his way by carrying a cup of black coffee in his hands. Their eyes followed him as he took his accustomed seat by the window. He looked back up at the teenagers with an eyebrow raised. "What are you waiting for? Get ready. That is of course unless you want an extra five hour Danger Room session. Either way you're gonna learn something, so take your pick." With that said the students quickly stood up and made a mad rush to the door. 

He silently sipped from his cup as he watched them make their way out, keeping a particular eye on their sullen leader. _Gonna have to have a talk with the boy_, he thought to himself as he brought out a brown paper bag from a hidden compartment by the window. He opened the top and poured out a liquid into his coffee from a bottle in the simple bag.

"Ahem."

Logan quickly looked up to see an angry weather-witch staring down at him. Ororo had her arms crossed over her chest as she eyed the brown bag in his hands.

"What? It's cream," he said in defense as he took another sip from his new concoction.

The white-haired woman merely sighed as she grabbed the bag from him. Alcohol had been prohibited from being on the school grounds, but that was something she would have a talk with him later, although the attempt was quite futile. Didn't work the others times she caught him. They had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, however. "The professor wants us to meet up in the lab with Hank to discuss what we're going to do at this point. Would you care to join us, or do you want more time alone with your 'coffee'?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Logan replied as he stood from his seat.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So what exactly happened last night?" Logan injected as soon as Xavier had finished his speech on security measures.

"Well, as much as I can gather from meeting with the young man and the CD that he had on him, it merely seems that Magneto had planned to deliver a message to me," Charles Xavier answered as he held up the CD in question. "It contains a program encryption for the Danger Room. However, I don't know exactly what was on it at this point to due to something damage that came to it during the escape attempt by our new houseguest. He claims to not know any specifics about what was Magneto's attempt, and at this point we really have no choice but take his word. I've been having difficulty getting into his mind. He seems to have some mental shielding to protect…"

"Don't mean to interrupt, Charles, but that's not exactly what I wanted to know," Logan continued as he looked at the telepath. "What's wrong with Rogue?"

Xavier let out a sigh as he handed the CD back to Dr McCoy. "She's another that I am having difficulty to get through to. Her mind is a mess right now. It seems as if the psyches of the people she has absorbed in her past are still present in her mind. From what I can tell, I believe it's getting to be too much for her to handle at this point. She's young, and her powers are still new and out of her control, so it's no surprise to me that she's having difficulty controlling these psyches. I can't say that I expected them to react that way, but it seems as if they're fighting for control of her body at this point. I've had a feeling that this has been building up for some time now…"

Logan's mind began to wander as he thought back to the racket lodged into the wall of the racketball area the night before. He had been meaning to have a talk with the girl about it the next day, but he had been sent on a wild goose chase the night before. He took another large sip on his coffee as he let his mind drift away from the incident. The past was the past, whether he remembered it or not. All that they had at this point was the present and the future, and at the present he was concerned about Rogue. The young woman reminded him of himself, a loner confused about herself and her powers, feeling isolated from the world and everyone else, at times not seeing who her true allies and friends.

"From what I've gathered from Gambit on what happened in those last few minutes before he lost consciousness, Rogue had used her powers on him. I'm not going to know for certain what happened until Rogue wakes up, but I take it that this last psyche was the tipping point to which the psyche's managed to take over. Since his was the most recent absorption, I believe that is why she took his form most likely using Mystique power to manifest his image. The psyche must not have known that he was absorbed at that point and believed it was still on its mission. It's hard to say for sure what had happened. Rogue mind is jumbled up right, so it'll take some time for me to figure out how exactly this happened. As much as Rogue is not sure of how to control her powers, I was not sure on the extent to which the damage may have done on her own mind. I'm afraid we have not even begun to see where her powers might lead her."

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Rogue wandered around the dimly lit med lab. Her ankle made it difficult to walk around, but the pain did not compare to that caused by the massive headache she was experiencing. She slowly attempted to recollect what had happened after she kissed Gambit. She remembered him dropping down, and memories of Cody flashing through her mind. Her body exhausted and her mind buzzing with the sounds of screaming and yelling, her first instinct was to run. She had not gotten very far when she collapse and passed out. At least she thought she passed out. Then her nightmare started--she was bound somewhere dark, surrounded by everyone she had ever absorbed just staring down at her angrily. Wait, it wasn't everyone. Someone was missing, two people actually. Mystique and Gambit. Then she remembered hearing Logan threatening someone, then Scott. Then everything went black again until she woke up in the med lab.

__

But wat happened ta Gambit? she thought to herself as she looked into another room. _Ah didn't kill him did Ah?_ Although he was her enemy, she hated the thought of hurting him or anyone with her powers. She continued her desperate search for someone, anyone who could give her answers to what had happened. When she came to another closed door. She slowly opened it and peeked in. Lying in the bed was the intruder--Gambit, or Remy, or whoever he was. She still had a few of his memories dancing around in her head. Remy Lebeau, prince of thieves as he referred to himself at times. Hired thug of Magneto. Rogue quietly crept into the room, shutting the door behind her. She nervously hid her hands behind her back as she walked to his bedside. "Oh, mah gawd, Ah killed him," she whispered as she desperately searched for a heart monitoring machine of some sorts.

"Umm.." Remy moaned as his eyes fluttered opened. His red irises locked onto the form looking over him. "Not quite, cherie," he replied as he sat up. "But Remy demand a rematch. Ya played dirty. Not dat Remy had any problem with dat, in fact Remy wouldn't mind you doing that more often."

Rogue angrily threw his pillow at him in response. " Well, Ah COULD making skin-to-skin contact again and snatch up your powers and -charmin- personality for an hour or two, BUT Ah rather just POUND your skull into pulp, swamp-rat."

"Awww," Remy cooed as he put the pillow behind his head and leaned back again it. "Remy think ya starting ta like me already."

****

Author Rant: I decided to put the author rant at the end of the chapter this time. I wrote up an explanation just to clear up some confusion about that last chapter, and I did my best to explain it in this chapter itself so I didn't want to spoil it. But just in case some are still confused…Yes, the psyches began their hostile take over when she absorbed Remy, and yes, that was Mystique's powers manifesting. The reason that's Remy psyche began to manifest was because it was the most recent and strongest psyche, in that it was the one that she held the longest thus far. My reasoning for this theory, well, in the concert scene of "Self-Possessed" she had more physical contact with Mystique than anyone up to that point, at least in my opinion, hence why her presence seemed more present. The other pysche's faded after awhile, but her powers were there constantly as seen through the shape-shifting. Keeping in mind that the events of "Self-Possessed" has not occurred up to this point, it is this author's argument that like Mystique's powers was present and the psyche's manifested through her powers, Mystique's powers manifested when Gambit was observed. Also keeping in mind that when she was possessed by the pysches she wasn't in full control of her body as if she was the person themselves as well as the fact that Gambit's psyche was fresh in her mind, when Rogue regained consciousness, the psyche thought it was still in it's own body. Does that make any sense? No, well, at least this chapter is longer… hahaha… Oh, and…   
ROGUE KISSED GAMBIT ON SATURDAYS SHOW! Hehehe. She did the move my Rogue did! Hehehe..

[Rogue Warrior Spirit] I feel bad for both of them really. Although despite being knocked unconscious by Rogue, he's gonna try again. It's just a given.  
[me] As confusing as the last chapter was, I'm glad that you're weren't disappointed.  
[isandahalf] hehe. Hopefully this chapter filled in the gaps for the last chapter for you, if not then the author rant, and if neither, umm… Have some Ritz ^_^  
[Dragonet] I know, I have a problem with the short chapters, but hopefully I remedied that a bit with this chapter. Much longer than my last ones.  
[Star] Awwe, thank you. ^_^  
[angelprincess13] Oh man, I'm sorry the last one was confusing, but hopefully it's been cleared up a bit.  
[cool-rae-chick] hehe. Do you know what happened now? Was it what you thought -_-%  
[Rogue31] hehe. Yah, moving into college sucks. I wasn't even sure I had housing until last week, so now I have to start packing and getting supplies again, such as Ritz cracker with cheese… mwahahahhaa!  
[Yumiko] eep..Cap-lock.. Well, this one didn't take as long for me to write. The last one really motivated me to get this done. fill in the gaps of what happened for the confused ones.  
[Destiny Phoenix] I'm glad you're enjoying the story, hopefully this chapter cleared a few things up though.  
[Carla-p] Thanks for the review, hopefully this chapter cleared up your confusing. Eat Ritz and be merry  
[Lady Dragon] Yes, I am evil.. mwahahahhahaa!  
[Riah Yaps] hehehe. Yes, I have a twisted mind, and the last chapter made sense in my head, but at least I updated sooner, right? hehehe..


	8. And Over Again

**Author Note**: Wow, I have not updated this fanfic for about a year. I must start off with a sincere apology to those of you who are/were a fan of this particular work of mine. It's just that it has been a stressful two years for me, I've had to switch universities, changed my major so many times (although I have finally settled on Biochemistry), and have gone through too many emotional rollercoasters that I lost track of everything else. Not to mention the computer I had all the original word files for this fanfic (including the next two chapters) had its motherboard charred due to my boyfriend being just a plain idiot (he forgot to turn the computer off while he was installing a new cd-burner for me). Also I completely forgot my password and email this account was registered with. Not to mention that X-Men Evolution has long since concluded, much to my dismay (I signed a petition to get it back, alas, it did not work oo) But for those of you who are still interested in this fanfic, I hereby submit to you my formal apology, as well as my promise that I will not let you down again (at least without a warning first).

Disclaimer: _I do not own X-men Evolution, the X-men collection (what ever adjective you want to throw in from of the word X-men... Uncanny, Astonishing, New, or as I would so name them if I did fact owned X-men, The Spiffy X-men), nor do I own any characters affiliated with the syndication. If I did, then the show would still be on then wouldn't it?_

For the next few hours, every corner of the mansion was draped in silence. The early morning rush to Bayville's local schools had long since dissipated. Ororo, Hank, and Logan had done their parts in attempting to clean up the damage done to the estate; however, the Professor had decided that their efforts were best needed elsewhere. The mansion was vulnerable and needed protection, not to mention the sick bay had two occupants that needed attention. With the trio separated to guard and watch over the occupants of the mansion, Xavier made several phone calls to his sponsors as well as the nearby construction company. He sighed outwardly; he pretty much had the company on speed dial at this point with the frequent visits they made to the school. Although many members of the company had great distaste for the "type" of customers they were serving, money had a way of clouding people's judgments and turning them into helpful people. And in a mutant sanctuary such as Xavier's, there was always a source of business.

Meanwhile, Rogue had managed to convince Dr. Hank that she was in good enough health to leave the med bay. Thankfully for the young mutant, her impromptu "nap" had allowed her an escape from the interrogation and gossip that would have awaited her if she had made it to the table in the morning. There was no doubt in her mind that the early morning break-in was the main topic of every conversation taking place that morning. If the kids had not stirred at the loud explosions that shook the house in the early morn, the surely the large scorch marks that riddled the front year and the destroyed hallway downstairs surely left them with some unanswered questions.

"Hhmphf," Rogue mumbled to herself as she rummaged through her drawers for her burgundy fishnet gloves. She let out a quicky "Ah ha!" as she located the missing articles and quickly slipped them on her arms. Although she had long since exchanged her simple sports bra for an additional oversized Lacuna Coil shirt, she still felt somewhat naked without something covering her forearms and hands. Why wouldn't she though? She mused to herself as pulled the fingertip-less gloves over her left hand. Her skin was a weapon, one which could take life away by a mere touch.

Rogue quickly paused at the thought as she caught sight of herself in the dresser mirror. "Ah could have killed him last night," she thought to herself as she moved in closer to the mirror. "Ah could have hurt anyone of them last night. Ah was completely exposed, all the Acolyte needed to do was merely toss me at Scott or Kurt and Ah could have taken them out." Rogue scowled at the idea that she could allow anyone to use her in such a manner. It made her sick to her stomach whenever she had to remind herself of the power that she yielded. It also caused a sharp pain to form at the side of her head, just behind her ears.

She quickly brought her hands to the source, squinting her eyes and clutching her head as the pain grew. As it spread to her inner ear, a loud ringing noise reverberated through her ears as she fell to the ground. Suppressing a scream for help, she began to hit her forehead again the oak drawer. "Stop it!" she hissed as the noise grew. "Stop it right NOW!" The last portion of her command quickly spread through the empty, quiet halls of the mansion.

"All right," Logan said gruffly as he idly played in the unused I.V. lines that hung over the medical counter. "Let's start this all at the beginning."

"Well, homme, Ah'm told dat de day Ah was born was sunny one in May. De flowers were in bloom and de bees were out doin' dere thing..."

"Cram the bullshit, Gumbo," the Canadian growled as he moved forward claws unsheathed.

"Whose bullshittin'?" the young man said holding his arms up in mock defense. "Gambit meybe born on a very beautiful day, how would you know otherwise?"

"You know more than you're saying, punk," the older mutant roared as he brought his claws within inches of the young man's face. "What the hell does Magneto want with us now?"

"Damn, homme, dat Xavier a shrink, right? He can't put you on some kind of prozac?" Gambit said, his smirk never leaving his face as death loomed within inches. Thankfully, the young mutant had mastered his poker face at the tender age of eight years old. Staying cool under pressure and covering up your anxiety was the trademark of an excellent thief and con-man, especially one of his caliber. Even though his heart nearly jumped out of his chest, he still managed to maintain his calm looks. Too bad he forgot that he was attached to a heart monitoring system, making the two X-men presentLogan ad Hankcompletely aware that the tactics were starting to take their proper effect.

Nevertheless, Logan was still irked with the cocky young mutant. He truly didn't like the boy, especially after the incident with Rogue. He didn't understand why Charles had decided to keep the young boy here. Then again, with the amount of blatant distaste for mutants going around and the obvious physical characteristics the young man had to indicate him as a mutant, handing him over to the authorities did not seem like a great idea. Also, the chances of Magneto breaking the young man out would have increased, thus adding more human-mutant tension than there should be needed. Okay, so maybe it did make sense to leave the young man on the estate, but it still did not mean that the young man was less annoying.

"Hank! Come quick! Rogue's passed out again!"

Ororo's shouts broke through the thick tension between the two mutants. Hank, whom had been monitoring the young man's vitals throughout the interrogation was quickly drawn out from his small note-taking. With his superhuman speed and agility, the Beast quickly met with the weather witch at the entrance of the med bay. Taking the fragile young girl in his arms, he quickly laid her down on the cot. He quickly broke out his stethoscope and concentrated on her vitals. For a brief moment, Logan's attention was brought away from his interrogation onto the young mutant girl. Shooting a glance back at the Louisianan, whom looked over at the scene curiously. Logan growled in a low voice as he pulled the curtains in front of the boy's view, "This isn't over kid. Now I believe I asked you why Magneto sent you here."

Magneto paced slowly as the images of his remaining Acolytes played on the television screens before him. If there was one thing the master of magnetism could not stand, it was incompetence. Scratch that, there was actually something he could stand even less, and that was failure. They had failed to distract the elder X-men long enough, failed to download the disc, and failed to retrieve their teammate. Failure would not be tolerated, not at all. First, they would train, harder than he had ever train them before. Push them to their limits until they bled, as long as he could condition them not to fail him in such a way again. Until then, however, he had time on his hands. Time to decide on how to go about retrieving his lost Acolyte, or whether or not it was even worth the effort at this point. He had failed him most of all. Not surprisingly, the boy was young. But he would pay dearly for that mistake. None of themnot Charles and his weak collection of mutant children, Mystique and her group of morons, not even his own teamnone of them understood the severity of the situation at hand. None of them knew how to stop the oncoming darkness that was about to fall both mutant and human kind. No, last night's attempts made it painfully clear of that. No, now it was time to step it up a notch. He'd stop the oncoming darkness if it was the last thing he would ever do.

"You have one new message. To hear your message, please press 1 or wait for the..."

The numerical tone quickly followed. Raven Darkholme was never quite a patient person. Especially when it came to her plans. "We're running out of time, Raven," the female voice replied on the other end. "The course of both of your fates is beginning to change rapidly. In order to secure your place in the new world order, you must get her immediately."

She scoffed as she pressed the number seven on her keypad, thereby deleting the annoying message left by Destiny. No, Raven was not a patient person, especially when it came to revenge and getting what she felt she deserved. But the time was coming, and soon she could exact her vengeance. There was only one thing left standing in her way. But not for long...


	9. I\'m Awake in the Infinite Cold

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own X-men, X-men Evolution, or any of the dozens of X-men derivatives that exist out there. That all belongs to the wonderful team at Marvel. I do, however, own these "Smoothie Mix Skittles"™ (yummmmmy….)

Author Note: Sorry once again for the delay… I just had difficultly balancing out 18 credits and a job last semester… But it's summer, and I promise that I will do my best to finish this fic AT LEAST by November.

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_Only Hope: Chapter 9—I'm Awake in the Infinite Cold_

She couldn't remember when she felt so cold; perhaps the time she was trapped in the mountain cave with Scott. Seemed so long ago, yet the loss of feeling in her extremities was a painful reminder of the frigid weather atop the mountain peaks. Her body shivered uncontrollably as she wandered through the thick fog. It was foreboding enough that she had no idea where she was or no recollection of how she got there; to add to her worries, it was impossible to see within two feet in front of her. Blacking out and working up in unfamiliar territory was enough to terrify the young girl, but the fog? Come on, a tad bit of overkill. It was as if she was trapped in one of those lame-ass, low-budget movies. As she wandered aimlessly through the mist, she kept her senses up—awaiting any sign that a man in a poorly made rubber outfit in the shape of lizard was going to spring out of nowhere with his arms flailing wildly. Nothing of the manner had shown up yet, however. _'Although it would be entertaining,'_ she thought to herself.

Her attempt to make light of her dreary situation did not do much in terms of perking up her spirits. '_This is hopeless,'_ Rogue thought to herself as she clenched her fingers into a fist. She quickly brought her gloved hands to her face and gently blew on them. Unfortunately her choice of fishnet gloves did not afford her much warmth—then again, it was sweltering only hours beforehand when she chose them out.

From the corner of her eye, however, she saw a quick shadow dash off. "HEY!" she yelled into the empty space before her. "Get back here!"

'_Thief…"_

Rogue quickly darted her head around, desperately trying to find the source of the whisper that had just insulted her. "Anyone there," she yelled once again. "Look, if ya got a problem with me, just come out and say it to mah face, coward."

"_Thief…"_

"_You had not right…"_

Two indistinguishable voices called out to her now, as more shadows began to run pass her. No matter how quick her reflexes were however, she could never catch sight of a solid form. No matter what she did, all she was able to make out were shadows and whispers. At the moment fear began to take over as she did her best to prepare herself for what seemed to be an impending battle. "What are ya talking about?" Rogue yelled as more figures began to swirl around her. "Ah didn't steal anything from you."

"_My memories..."_

"_My family…"_

"_My identity…"_

"_My life… My future…"_

"_Thief..."_

Soon enough she was surrounded by these dark figures. As the voices began to grow louder and multiply, the shadows began to slow down, slowly forming solid figures. Although she still could not recognize the forms, they were starting to become more clear to her. They were also getting closer—too close for comfort for someone like Rogue. "Get back!" she yelled as she took a defense position. She slowly slid off one of her gloves as she began to spin around. There were so many of them now, at least a dozen, if not more. "Get back, Ah said!"

The first of the figures stepped out… It was the Acolyte Rogue had ran into the other night. He gave Rogue a cold stare as he lifted his staff. "Ah should have known!" she said, glaring at his viciously as she clenched her hands into a fist. "Ah should have known this a trap by Magneto." As she raised her fist for her first blow, however, another hand came down and grabbed her unprotected fist. She quickly looked behind her, her eyes growing wide at the sight of the adversary behind her. "Scott?" she said in disbelieve. All of the sudden, Rogue felt extremely weak. Glancing up at her ungloved hand, it was obvious to her now that her powers were having no affect on her fellow X-Man. "Scott? What's…."

Before she could finish her question, however, another figure came down for an attack. A burst of lightning struck Rogue at her feet, throwing her backwards. Before she had time to react, she glanced up. "Storm?" And right behind her. "Sabertooth? Juggernaut? Mystique?... Jean?" And behind them, there were more. Each a familiar face of someone she had met once during her life. Friends, foes, mutants, humans—each of them had one thing in common. Well, two actually, one: they looked extremely angry, and two: they were are people that she…

'_No… It couldn't be…'_ she began to muse to herself. As much as she tried to debunk her theory, the realization of her predicament started to become painfully clear.

The figure that took up the shape of Scott was the first to speak out. "You're a parasite," he said vehemently as she towered over the fallen mutant. "You leeched off of my friendship, Professor's hospitality, and all of our powers. You disgust me."

The form of Jean came up to Scott from behind, grabbing onto his arm. She didn't have to say anything; if looks could kill, then the one she was giving road was deadly. The hatred, the disgust, the look of superiority that Rogue had always thought the preppy mutant felt over the goth girl was all mixed in her glare.

Rogue quickly pulled in her legs into her chest and covered her head as the figures began to move in on their prey. Hot tears streamed down her face as she awaited the attack. She felt helpless as the voices kept screaming accusations of every single insecurity she had about herself and her relationships. Not only had her powers disappeared, but it felt as if the last ounce of emotional strength was dashed in a matter of moments. Throughout the mixture of her tears and screams, a sudden pain struck Rogue. That damn ringing noise again, it had returned and its frequency and pitch and increased sending pain throughout her entire body.

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"Wat do you mean ve can't visit her?"

"You need a dictionary, bub? Ya ain't going in there."

"But, like, we have her homework and…"

"I'm sorry, no one can go in, children. Rogue is in a very weak state right now, its best that she doesn't get too excited."

"If you're so concerned about her, then at least get Magneto's lackey out of there."

"Scott," Ororo said softly. It had been roughly three hours since Ororo found Rogue passed out in the hallway, enough time for the other teens to return from school. Rogue was still caught in a deep sleep, which according to Hank had been triggered by a strong fever that the young girl was experience. If you hadn't gotten to her in time, I fear what could have happened if we were unable to take care of that fever. Although her state had long since stabilized, Rogue was still running a 101 degree fever and was showing no sign of waking up anytime soon. Still, that was not enough to stop the curiosity and persistence of the other students in the Institute.

"You ask us not to worry, but you leave that creep in there with her," Scott scoffed as he looked over the older mutant's shoulder at the sleep young woman in the bed by the entrance. Next to her, separated only by an off-white curtain, was the Acolyte he had fought with earlier that morning. Dr. Hank was preoccupied with Rogue for the most part and had given the red-eyed mutant a couple of latex gloves to entertain himself with. Hard to believe the young man making "glove balloons" was the cause of all the damage in the institute earlier this morning. Gambit looked over at the med-bay doors as he held on of his new creations in his hands. Glaring at him through the glass window was the idiot from this morning—the one whom someone forgot to inform that sunglasses were meant for daytime hours. Guess he missed that memo. Gambit shot a cocky smirk at the younger boy as he lowered four of the latex fingers on his blown up glove and waved the remaining finger in the middle at the peeping tom.

"Look, I ain't too happy with the arrangements either," Wolverine stepped in. Neither he nor Ororo seemed to have taken notice of the silent battle between the younger mutants. With Scott's dark sunglasses, it was difficult to detect what exactly the boy was looking at. "But we have to keep an eye on both of them. Got it."

"BUT…"

The sound of metal claws unsheathing interrupted the young man's objection. Wolverine continued, raising his adamantium claws in clear view. "I asked you if you 'got it'."

"Yes, sir, we understand" Scott said dejectedly as he motioned for his companions to follow in suit. Kitty and Kurt frowned at the orders, as they slowly paced after their "leader." Kurt looked back one more time before entering the elevator at his mentors. "She's going to be okay, right?"

Ororo gave a forced smile to the young boy as she walked over to join him on the elevator. "She'll be just fine, Kurt. Don't worry."

As the elevator doors closed, Wolverine turned and looked into the med bay where Hank was jotting down his observations on a chart. Rogue was still passed out, and by the look of her face, she was having one intense nightmare. Inwardly, he felt so weak. He felt as if he had somehow failed to protect her as well as the other students. He cursed at himself as he walked into the lab towards Rogue's 'roommate.' Hank looked up at the sudden intrusion in the med-bays quiet environment and quickly noted the direction that the temperamental Canadian was heading. "Logan, I really don't think this is the time for any sort of interrogation. Rogue needs her rest."

"We'll do our best to keep it quiet. Right, Gumbo?" Wolverine said as he pulled back the curtain separating him from Rogue.

"Oui, mon ami," Gambit said as he glanced up at his visitor. "Gambit be all nice and silent, can assure you dat."

Logan scowled at the audacious young mutant as he pulled a chair to the side of the bed. "The Professor isn't here to stop me from dragging you to a nice quiet area and forcing out info from you. So you better play nice. Just level with me. What happened out there with Rogue? What happened between the two of you that she ended up like this?"

Gambit shot a deathly glare at his elder. "Gambit never hurt femme in his life." His face lightened before he continued. "Aside from a broken heart or few."

He was getting awfully frustrated with the cocky young man. "Well, she was fine up until you came along. I want to know what happened out there."

Gambit sighed as he laid his head back into his pillow. "Gambit already talk to de professor about dis. One moment Gambit running fine, next thing you know, he wake up in dis 'comfortable' bed surrounded by loving faces such as your own. Must have used her powers when Gambit wasn't looking. Dat what she does, non? Take other mutant's powers by touch?" Course it was a lie. He knew damn well she had used her powers on him. Quite a kiss if it knocked him out for a couple of hours, he was still a bit dazed from it. However, Gambit looked at himself as a gentleman; it wasn't proper to speak of such manners about a female, especially if she was passed out a couple of feet away from him. They didn't have to know how it happened, just that it did.

He knew more than he was letting on, Wolverine was sure of it. But, the young man was quite hesitant to talk about anything at this point. And although Charles had left the Institution for the day, the Professor left explicit instructions that no harm come to their new "guest." "I'll know what happened out there," he said succinctly as he stood up and made his way towards the exit. "And I'll find out why you came here. I guarantee you of that. If I find out you just lied to me about her though, and you did do something, you're going to pay." With that, the mutant known as Wolverine left the med-bay.

"Homme always so hospitable?" Gambit asked the blue-furred doctor who was attending the patient to the right of him.

"Logan is very…" Doctor McCoy struggled to find the exact words to describe his hot-tempered comrade as he monitored Rogue's pulse. "Passionate about protecting his students. It is, after all, a dangerous world that we live in, and are students are quite young and unprepared for the magnitude of troubles that await them outside these halls. We fear we may have to withdrawal all the students from any public school soon and start teaching them here for their own protection. The world has never been the same since we were all revealed to the public. Logan, like the rest of us, is merely concerned about our students' safety."

"Sort of like a family, non?" the red-eyed mutant mused sadly as he picked up another glove.

Hank looked up at the change of the young man's tone. "Yes, I guess you can say that."

Gambit merely smiled at the comment as he tied several gloves together by their pinkies and thumbs. For a brief moment he began to think about his own family down in New Orleans. Sure, he and his father had their differences and feuds, however, they were still family. He could still remember the last time they had talked, before he walked out on him, the family, and the Guild. Harsh words soon became hard punches and soon escalated into Gambit being disowned. Didn't he deserve it though? He had shamed the Guild by refusing to go through with the engagement. No. That engagement was the last straw, he could allow Jean Luc to use him like he had done so many times in the past. The bastard had dragged him through hell and back, using the boy for his special gifts and charm.

By this time Rogue's fever had gone down considerable, and she had stopped trembling awhile now. She seemed to have been stabilizing to a certain degree. There was still the matter of her finding the strength to wake up, but she showed no physical signs that she was in any sort of danger. Opening up the curtain separating the two mutants, he took up the chair that Logan had once sat in. Gambit looked up at the doctor whom had taken the seat besides him. "What can Remy do for you?"

"I just have one question, Gambit…" Hank began as he removed his classes and stuffed it into the pocket of his white lab coat.

"Call me Remy, doc," the young man smirked as he tossed the last of the gloves and the empty box to the end of the bed.

"Well, Remy," Hank said with a quick smile. "I just wanted to know, why you haven't made any attempts to escape yet? Honestly, I've seen what you could do. I know you're capable of escaping. Although you still complain about you back and neck, I see nothing physically wrong with you. So why are you still here?"

Remy scoffed as he looked absentmindedly at the ceiling. "Like you said, dere's a lot of crazy stuff going on outside, Remy feels safer here den returning to Magneto. Plus, dis bed is much softer than mine."

"Whatever you say, Remy," Hank chuckled as he stood up from the uncomfortable chair. "If you need anything, there's a button at your bedside. Whenever your ready to talk to us. We'll be here." Remy only smiled as he laid back into his pillow and closed his eyes. Yes, this was actually the safest place for him to be at the moment, even though three out of five of the occupants wanted his head.

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Author Note Part Deux: Well, there you go. The long awaited Chapter 9. But hey, it was 6 pages on word Once again, I apologize to all the fans of the fic for teasing you all with the lack of updates. But I'll do my best to make up for that now. Although I'm not going to do the individual reviews to all the posts, I must tell you all that I read every single one and I greatly appreciate all the love that this fanfic has been receiving. It's very inspirational. I had no idea that this fic would be so well received and wanted to thank those who took the time to review. So yes.

On other news!squeals of happiness! Kelsey Grammar is going to play Beast in X-Men 3… Wheee! Although I am slightly worried about how the Phoenix Saga is going to be interpreted this time around. Gah… So worried. O.O


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